P-Bass knowledge wanted… particularly MIJ ones…

[carlsim]

Hi all… need a bit of P-bass advice…

 

I have never been a P-bass kinda guy… always found the sound a bit limiting. But, time moves on and I find myself drawn more and more to owning a good one. 
can’t afford vintage, and to be honest, I don’t expect to play it that much as I mainly play 5 string anyway. But the first decent bass I bought was a 57 reissue p-bass that I sold to go 5 so would like to have one again.

 

anyway… I love the 70s p-bass logo. Just looks so much cooler to me than the standard logo. 
I also have a bit of a thing at the moment for Japanese guitars so a MIJ / CIJ P-bass would definitely get me excited…

does a MIJ p-bass exist with the 70s logo?

older the better but not too fussed… I see the CIJ PB70 around a bit but they all look a bit too ‘new’ and would like something a bit more ‘broken in’!

my thinking, what is the difference between a 57/62 and a 70s p bass? 
could I get any old MIJ/CIJ p-bass and add a 70s logo to it? Sand it down, add the logo and re-finish? Possibly with a tinted lacquer?

Am I better off keeping my search going?

do the 70s re-issues MIJ exist or is it a fruitless search?

don’t get me wrong, would love a 76 (YOB) but at today’s prices, it just isn’t gonna happen! 
any thought would be most welcome!

 

carl.

[Steve Browning]

You can't go wrong with a Fender Japan bass. 

 

A 57 will be a maple board while the 62 or 70 will be rosewood. The 57 is wider at the nut with the 62 slightly less and the 70 a little less again. 

 

I much prefer the PB70 as the neck fits my hands so much better. It also has the TV logo you want (as it's called).

 

Check out Bass Bros who regularly have these.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Steve Browning

[police squad]

yep my wife has a PB70, it was white but is now a sort of yellow colour. A fine instrument and her first P bass.

I had a fretless maple/natural one too

They sometimes come up here for sale too

[carlsim]

Does anyone know what years the PB 70 went from?
 

I’ve seen a lot of the crafted in Japan model, PB 70s, which are typically early 2000s, I just wondered if there was something older?

[Steve Browning]

Not sure, but there will be no difference in age. The CIJ/MIJ thing is meaningless in terms of any perceived difference in quality.

 

The only difference of which I'm aware is that they did two versions. The PB70 is basswood (body) and Japanese spec parts, while the PBUS is alder (and some were ash - I had a gorgeous 3TS ash one) and had US spec parts. I would be very surprised if the last one made was any different to the first.

[Steve Browning]

Can't recall the exact years but my two sunburst ones were 2006 and 2010. They were awesome and I'd have both back in a heartbeat.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Steve Browning

[Linus27]

As Steve has said, to get the Fender Precision TV logo, you want the PB70 Precision and the PB70US come with US Pickups and Alder/Ash body. I'm a huge Japanese Fender fan and I have the PB62 Fretless Precision andxa 62RI Jazz which are both amazing.

[Steve Browning]

A Google search of Fender Japan catalogues reveals that there is a PB70 in the 1992 catalogue. They may be earlier but I don't know.

 

Honestly, ignore the age thing, it's irrelevant for Fender Japan. There's no pre-CBS/late 70's early 80's quality issues that beset Fender US.

 

Similarly, if you want to go down the route of changing the logo, there are the lawsuit basses from Greco, Fernandes and Tokai (and others) that are of similar quality (many came out of the same factory before it went over to Squier production - this is the Squier that became Fender Japan, not the later models from other countries).

[Geek99]

I would not sand anything off, just buy a replica neck, get it sprayed to match the current one’s laquer and add your logo of choice.

 

really bad idea to do irreversible changes to something with innate and accumulating value 

[carlsim]

1 hour ago, Linus27 said:

As Steve has said, to get the Fender Precision TV logo, you want the PB70 Precision and the PB70US come with US Pickups and Alder/Ash body. I'm a huge Japanese Fender fan and I have the PB62 Fretless Precision andxa 62RI Jazz which are both amazing.

Is there an easy way to tell the difference between a PB70 and a PB70US??

it’s definitely a PB70 I want then… have to look at what is out there…

[Reggaebass]

12 hours ago, carlsim said:

I also have a bit of a thing at the moment for Japanese guitars so a MIJ / CIJ P-bass

Might be worth a look at fender fever, they get a lot of MIJ basses in, it seems they deal in those mostly , they have a Fender PB-70 US Precision Bass Reissue MIJ

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by Reggaebass

[Steve Browning]

32 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Might be worth a look at fender fever, they get a lot of MIJ basses in, it seems they deal in those mostly , they have a Fender PB-70 US Precision Bass Reissue MIJ

 

 

They have a good stock but they do seem be quite pricey.

 

I believe (and I said it elsewhere and can't remember if I was corrected), but the US ones have large back plate tuners, whereas the non-US ones have the smaller back plate version. The one shown here has the large plate tuners. They're what I use as a gauge.

 

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by Steve Browning

[soulstar89]

13 hours ago, carlsim said:

Hi all… need a bit of P-bass advice…

 

I have never been a P-bass kinda guy… always found the sound a bit limiting. But, time moves on and I find myself drawn more and more to owning a good one. 
can’t afford vintage, and to be honest, I don’t expect to play it that much as I mainly play 5 string anyway. But the first decent bass I bought was a 57 reissue p-bass that I sold to go 5 so would like to have one again.

 

anyway… I love the 70s p-bass logo. Just looks so much cooler to me than the standard logo. 
I also have a bit of a thing at the moment for Japanese guitars so a MIJ / CIJ P-bass would definitely get me excited…

does a MIJ p-bass exist with the 70s logo?

older the better but not too fussed… I see the CIJ PB70 around a bit but they all look a bit too ‘new’ and would like something a bit more ‘broken in’!

my thinking, what is the difference between a 57/62 and a 70s p bass? 
could I get any old MIJ/CIJ p-bass and add a 70s logo to it? Sand it down, add the logo and re-finish? Possibly with a tinted lacquer?

Am I better off keeping my search going?

do the 70s re-issues MIJ exist or is it a fruitless search?

don’t get me wrong, would love a 76 (YOB) but at today’s prices, it just isn’t gonna happen! 
any thought would be most welcome!

 

carl.

A lot of people have given some great information. 
 

PB a stands for Precision bass. The number is the year it’s modelled on. 
 

the pb70 first appeared in 1990. In an ash body maple neck  and a Adler body with maple and rosewood options.
 

The pick up output is different to the pb57 and pb62. 
 

fenderfever has the both versions new and old. Pb70-us white with black pickguard. It’s Crafted in Japan so it’s made in the tokai factory not fujigen. 

he also has the 90’s version (ash body, maple neck)
 

pb70’s which are ash body and maple neck are very hard to come by (I’m looking myself). 
 

I have gotten to the stage that I either just buy a 70’s fender or a law suit Japanese copy from Greco (pb800) or tokai (can’t remember the model) 

[carlsim]

50 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

 

They have a good stock but they do seem be quite pricey.

 

I believe (and I said it elsewhere and can't remember if I was corrected), but the US ones have large back plate tuners, whereas the non-US ones have the smaller back plate version. The one shown here has the large plate tuners. They're what I use as a gauge.

 

 

Can you elaborate?? A comparison?

 

I did see Fender Fever on ebay… I might give them a call and see if there is wiggle room on the price as they do seem quite pricey…

[soulstar89]

1 hour ago, carlsim said:

Can you elaborate?? A comparison?

 

I did see Fender Fever on ebay… I might give them a call and see if there is wiggle room on the price as they do seem quite pricey…

The eBay price is more than on his website. All shops I’ve seen on reverb or eBay do this. 
 

Www.bassbro.co.uk get MIJ in. Also the bassgallery in Camden do also. I went to them a couple weeks back. 
 

sadly fenderfever is recovering from a acl injury so it’s going to be hard for you to try it out. 
 

I really like to try before I buy as necks so different from bass to bass.

 

everytime I’ve been to his workshop it’s been great as I try so many MIJ basses which you can’t over here in uk 

Edited August 28, 2023 by soulstar89

[soulstar89]

10 minutes ago, carlsim said:

Can you elaborate?? A comparison?

 

I did see Fender Fever on ebay… I might give them a call and see if there is wiggle room on the price as they do seem quite pricey…

The top MIJ models have bigger tuners with little to no space between each tuner. If it’s a pb62 or pb57 they have spiral saddles. These are the tell tell signs it’s a top model. 
 

As in the 70’s fender moved away from spiral saddles the pb70 doesn’t have them. Just the one groove in the centre. 
 

If you are happy with an alder body and rosewood neck then you will find them much easier compared to the ash body maple necks. 
 

crazy I had no clue about Japanese models but from searching for what I want I have gained this knowledge. 

[Steve Browning]

Large (I think a PBUS)

 

Small (non-US)

 

Different model but you see the difference in size, of the backplate.

[soulstar89]

9 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

Large (I think a PBUS)

 

Small (non-US)

 

Different model but you see the difference in size, of the backplate.

Great physical example 

[Steve Browning]

1 minute ago, soulstar89 said:

Great physical example 

 

I thought you were going to suggest the lower picture was taken from far away!! 🙂

[carlsim]

So that top image is a spiral saddle tuner? Is that correct? Meaning that one was a 57 or a 62??

[soulstar89]

37 minutes ago, carlsim said:

So that top image is a spiral saddle tuner? Is that correct? Meaning that one was a 57 or a 62??

These are spiral saddles. Saddles are part of the bridge. 
 

you notice the have ridges? This allows you to move the string to your desired spacing. 

[carlsim]

7 minutes ago, soulstar89 said:

These are spiral saddles. Saddles are part of the bridge. 
 

you notice the have ridges? This allows you to move the string to your desired spacing. 

👍

[carlsim]

So is it a case that the earlier MIJ models came from the Fujigen factory, and the CIJ models came from the Tokai factory??

 

is that a rough guide date wise??

[soulstar89]

7 minutes ago, carlsim said:

So is it a case that the earlier MIJ models came from the Fujigen factory, and the CIJ models came from the Tokai factory??

 

is that a rough guide date wise??

Yes roughly. 
 

Honestly not much difference in quality. I wouldn’t worry about which factory it was made in as the quality control around that time was more consistent than fender USA. Japan is known for their high-level  of craftsmanship. 

 

 

[BlueMoon]

9 hours ago, carlsim said:

Is there an easy way to tell the difference between a PB70 and a PB70US??

The tuners on the PB70US are essentially the same as those on a US P bass. The non-export Japanese PB70 has tuners with a smaller footprint. Another difference is the pickups, but that is not a difference that would be easy to tell without a closer inspection.

 

As others have said, you can’t really go wrong with a MIJ or CIJ instrument.